Security Forces must be Alert to Maintain Terror Free Country -“ Defence Secretary
DEFENCE SECRETARY Gotabhaya Rajapaksa hands over a ceremonial sword to an Air Force officer during a passing out parade held at the Sri Lanka Air Force Base in China Bay, Trincomalee yesterday (21) where 329 airmen and 16 officers including six pilots passed out. An Air Force parachutist displays his skills. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that security Forces must be on full alert even after the operations are over. The country was in the grips of terrorism for the last 30 years and a continuous security vigil would help to maintain a terrorism free nation.
NORTH: ARMY TROOPS continued their search and clear operations on Saturday (22) in the general areas of PUTHUKKUDIYIRUPPU, ALANKULAM, KUPPILANKULAM and SUGANDHIPURAM and recovered fifty-one anti personnel mines, two Bangalore torpedoes, three 81 mm mortar bombs, twenty 60mm mortar bombs, two T-56 weapons, forty-one rounds of T-56 ammunition, one claymore mine weighing about 2.5 kg, four hand grenades, one Jonny mine, thirteen claymore stands, sixty-one rounds of 12.7mm ammunition, forty Light Machine Gun (LMG) drums.....
IN THE SECOND phase of the resettlement process the Government has resettled 442 families numbering 1,898 persons in Musali Divisional Secretariat Division in Mannar District last Friday. Accordingly 94 Tamil fishing families numbering 347 persons displaced during 2007 from Kokkupadayan were resettled in their own places while 348 Muslim families numbering 1,551 persons who were forcibly evicted by the LTTE in 1990 from Pandaraweli, Weppankulam, Poonarachchikulam, Periya Pollachchi Paranthankeni, Puthuweli, Kulappankulam and Maithanweli villages in Musali Divisional Secretariat Division staying in the IDP camps in Puttalam were resettled in their own places.
NORTH & EAST: ARMY troops engaged in search and clear operations in the general areas of PUTHUKKUDIYIRUPPU, VIYAPARAMULLA and AMPAKAMAM further recovered two hundred detonators, eight Improvised Mortar Launchers (IML), fifteen T-56 weapons, twenty-five Sub Machine Guns (SMG), seven hundred rounds of T-56 ammunition, two micro pistols with one magazine, sixteen 60 mm mortar chargers, sixty 60 mm mortar bombs, four 60 mm illuminating mortar bombs, one claymore mine, two Multi Purpose Machine Gun (MPMG) links, thirty-nine rounds of MPMG ammunition.....
ARMY COMMANDER Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya visited the Regimental Headquarters of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment (RHQ-MIR) at Dambulla on Friday (21) and attended a few events organized by the MIR, formally commanded by Lt. Gen. Jayasuriya himself as the first Colonel of the Regiment. Lt. Gen. Jayasuriya on being received by the new Colonel of the Regiment and Military Secretary Major General Milinda Pieris was accorded a Guard Turnout and a Guard of Honour on arrival. During the visit, Army Commander declared opened the newly-built archway at the entrance to the premises.
PRESIDENT Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday the government had given top priority to the resettlement of the displaced people living in temporary camps and to help them rebuild their shattered lives in an atmosphere of peace. “We must be mindful that the government is unable to re-settle displaced people as fast as we or anybody else will wish. After a bloody three-decade war the land must be cleared of mines and booby traps. We have to develop infrastructure facilities like water, electricity and roads. All basic needs and utility services must be
TWO New roads, Trincomalee outer Circular Road and Seruwila-Somawathiya Road have been planned by the Road Development Authority (RDA) with the active participation of the Sri Lanka Army to improve connectivity between the Eastern and Northern Provinces with the rest of the country and facilitate an efficient road network for the economic development of the country. The Trincomalee outer circular road will provide access to new areas identified around Trincomalee harbour for development to maximize land utilization.
NORTH: ARMY troops conducting search and clear operations in the general areas of MURUSAMODAI, PARANTHAN, ASIKKULAM, PUTHUMATALAN, VELLAMULLIVAIKKAL, PUTHUKKUDIYIRUPPU, SUGANDIPURAM and KUPPILANKULAM, found eight 81 mm mortar bombs, two hundred four hand grenades, ten 120 mm mortar bombs, thirty-three Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG), one hundred and fifty 60mm mortar bombs, fifty anti personnel mines, two detonators, one claymore device, one LTTE uniform, three 30 kg flatting mines, eight hundred and thirty-three rounds.....